


Caravan Shenanigans

by michael_the_angelo



Series: Waves and Wilds [3]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Armor, General Domesticity, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Sewing, little to no angst, theoretically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28636284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michael_the_angelo/pseuds/michael_the_angelo
Summary: A series of drabbles written as I flesh out the rapidly expanding roster of ocs for my series Waves and Wilds.This probably won't be updated consistently at all, there will probably be like four chapters posted at a completely random time.I may include sketches of some of the characters, we'll see.I'll add tags when I post a new chapter if they're needed :)
Series: Waves and Wilds [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866580





	1. Introduction: Kai

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is Kai, no there is no physical description because I was focusing on how I want to write him as a character, not his hair color. I probably won't include an actual description of what each character looks like here (unless I end up doing sketches, then you'll see them)
> 
> Not gonna lie, I kinda want to know what you all think each character looks like from the blurb :)
> 
> Anywho, as usual this is unbeta'd but I've read through it, and comments and kudos are lovely!

Of course, the seam has to be difficult, _of course it does._

Kai sighs and rolls his neck, wincing at the knot that’s formed. Nevertheless, he picks the fabric back up and leans over, much farther than necessary, and does his best to keep the stitches even.

“Sewing together silk and leather is not for the faint of heart,” he mutters as the thin fabric nearly rips again. The fine silk, a gorgeous golden orange, is extremely delicate and does not take well to the leather needle.

“Shut it, Marian.”

“Who said I was going to say anything?” She exclaims, crossing her arms while she peers over his shoulder.

“I could feel the judgment on the back of my neck,” Kai responds, chewing his cheek as he pulls his stitch tight.

“Well if you’re giving me the opening-”

“ _Shut it, Marian!”_ Yes, he should have waited for the arachas silk thread to finish processing. Yes, he should have put a reinforcing trim on the silk if he wasn’t going to wait. He knows this, but he’s far too close to finishing to change it now.

Marian chuckles at his grumbling while she goes back to pinning samples of her chosen fabrics to her finished pattern.

“Good luck, Kai,” she calls as she leaves his tent. He mutters… something back, but truly he’s not paying attention now that he’s down to about ten stitches left. Scissors thud against the table after he cuts off the extra thread with a triumphant yell.

The silk drapes over the leather wonderfully, cowling at the neckline and flowing down to a smooth seam at the bottom of the piece. Excess fabric hangs off the sides to be used for the back, yet to be precisely designed, but the orange disguises the leather better than he anticipated.

“I could be on to something here,” Kai proclaims as he sets the bodice on the form next to the worktable. He laces the chest piece to the backplate of armor and sets to pinning, constructing then dismantling different possibilities. 

He’s still there when Priscilla stops by and the sun has dipped enough to cast long shadows. Standing back from the form with Priscilla just makes his squint in dissatisfaction harder. 

“Yup, that’s terrible,” Kai states before striding over and plucking the pins out with a huff, “At this rate, you’ll be lucky to have this by your name day.”

“Kai, my name day was last month.”  
  
“Exactly.” The loose fabric drops onto the grass floor and Kai chews on his cheek again as he turns to Priscilla, “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” She yells, “I wasn’t even doing anything!” Kai ignores her in favor of grabbing his fabric shears.

“You’ve _got_ to be _kidding me_.” A square of silk gets cut from a tail and pinned on the back panel of leather. The now lopsided excess fabric gets gathered across the back then wrapped around the front and pinned at the waist in a similar fashion to Priscilla’s dress. An embellished buckle gets plucked from a basket and secured where the fabric meets at the front.

“How long have you been here, Kai?”

He slowly looks up at her, hand still on the buckle, “I don’t want to answer that, Priscilla.” Kai plops back down on the workbench at her inelegant snort and joins her laughing.

“Well the drape is decadent and I can’t wait to see it completed, but your sister made Gamble Dumplings and would likely skin us both if they’re cold by the time we get there,” Priscilla says, holding her hand out to Kai. He takes it, ignoring the obnoxious cracking from his back, shudders at missing Gamle Dumplings.

“Honestly, I’m more worried about how creative she can get with the wooden spoon, it was a lethal weapon by the time she was five.” They leave the tent, tapes still hanging from Kai’s neck, and head towards the open-air kitchen at the center of camp, led on by the smell of cabbage and fried dough.


	2. Introduction: Adelina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adelina drabble, again with no real physical description because that's not what I'm focusing on here :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Adelina *insert Will Smith showing off his wife meme*  
> Alek's drabble (you'll meet him in this one but it's not *him*) is basically a continuation of this one so it should be up soon :)
> 
> As per usual, this is unbeta'ed but proofread, comments and kudos are lovely, have a nice read!

A breeze whispers through the treetops, rattling leaves and lifting her long hair from her shoulders. She waits tucked against the bough of the tree, a light glamour draped around her just in case and listens for footsteps. Soon enough, there’s a telltale crunch of bare feet heading towards her. The rigging is cleared with a visual once over so she shifts slowly, gently, into position. About two minutes later, the footsteps are within range, and the rope is pulled.

“ADELINA!”

She throws herself from the tree, giggling wildly as she glides between the branches. She’s forced to the ground when Alek calls on the branches, touching down next to trailing ivy and hoping away before it can wrap around her ankle. Alek gives chase, leaving a white trail as the powder puffs off with each step as the pair bounce and weave their way through the forest. They try to outdo each other, Alek by asking roots and brambles to shoot out, and Adelina by creating glamours, having more than seven versions of her running around at one time. 

By the time they circle back to camp, Adelina’s armor chafes where her clothes are soaked with sweat. She’ll likely have sores on her collarbones but one look at Alek is worth the trouble.

He looks like a glazed pastry.

Her giggles start up again, even as she’s still struggling to catch her breath. His hair is clump and sticky, and it drips on his feet. His entire torso is similarly coated, and dirt and leaves stick to him in clumps.

Adelina can see the look in his eyes and knows there’s gonna be hell to pay.

Before Alek can say anything, Adelina’s called for from in the camp, and just before she turns away, she releases the bucket of water above him. She quickly walks into camp, ignoring Alek’s yelling as he’s drenched with cold water.

There’s definitely going to be hell to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! The next one should be up soon if all goes well, and chapter 10 of the main series has officially been started but I want to try and make a buffer so it'll still be a little while before that goes up!


	3. Introduction: Alek + Prank War Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Alek who we met last chapter, and a continuation of the prank war also from the last chapter :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning: Alcohol is mentioned very, very briefly when Adelina asks about rye (whiskey)
> 
> Random Fact: Pears grow in cold climates and Washington and Oregon are the main producers of pairs in the US.  
> I find this weird.  
> I also find the consistency that I assume pear juice is from pictures weird.  
> Pears are weird.
> 
> Also, Lolek and Marian are other OCs that I have mostly constructed so they're being added into the mix, hopefully, that doesn't get confusing because I know who they are but y'all don't yet. 
> 
> Anywho, this is unbeta'ed but proofread as usual, comments and kudos are wonderful as we all know, enjoy!

“Why are you staring at Adelina like that?”

“She’s the reason you’re making me another pair of pants.” 

Kai sets his work down and turns fully towards Alek, “You’re telling me that Adelina is the reason you came back looking like you walked out of a Novigrad bakery’s display case?” He looks back and forth between Alek and Adelina, unable to believe that the fae running sword drills would cover someone in powdered sugar.

“She looks like she doesn’t know the definition of fun at the moment, but she can and will stuff your bag full of catnip when she knows there’s going to be a lot of street cats,” Alek assumes him, still squinting at Adelina while running through ideas. 

“I don’t see it, Alek,” Kai says, picking the half sewed pants back up, “I still feel the need to do push-ups whenever she looks at me.”

“Most of us do,” Alek snorts, knowing the feeling well, “but this prank war has been going on longer than you’ve been alive.” 

Kai squints between Alek and Adelina again, brows furrowing in concentration, “Nope, still more inclined to believe that pickle juice is an acceptable drink than Adelina being a prankster.” 

After three days of planning and preparation, getting information from a suspicious Lolek, two herb foraging trips, several failed experiments, and four jars of pickle juice, Alek’s ready to enact his plan. Buried as he is under several people leaching his warmth, he can’t see much or make a quick escape, but it should be fine. She won’t throw anything if he’s at the bottom of the cuddle pile.

Having known Adelina for half a century means that Alek knows her rather well. Her evening routine hasn’t changed much during that time, nor has her love of pear juice. It’s hard to come by in the south, so whenever Adelina finds a vendor, she buys as much as she can fit in her bag.

She’s on her last bottle.

Said bottle was taken then returned to her bag whilst she was out patrolling.

The three days have let her relax, long enough since her prank for her to stop looking over her shoulder but not so long that paranoia has set in. It’s a rarely utilized window - use it too much and it disintegrates - but it will be used without mercy now. 

As the day draws nearer to dinner, the smell of stew on the fire draws the rest of the caravan out. Lolek settles next to Alek, the pile of snugglers grows, and arms continue to fall asleep. Adelina files in with Kai, who’s already making another pair of pants for Alek since he knows of the scheme, her bottle of supposed pear juice in hand. They plop down on a free stretch of log, still deep in their conversation. Alek scoots up as much as he can to see around the stew pot, much to the discontent of those using him as a pillow, when he hears a cork pop. Adelina goes to take a drink while listening to Kai-

-And spits straight into the fire. 

The fire rears up, doubling its height even as it burns off the liquid in a matter of seconds. Adelina freezes, along with everyone else, eyes wide with the bottle held as far away from her as possible. 

“Stew’s ready,” Marian mutters, breaking the silence. Immediately, Alek starts cackling. Several elbows are shoved into his gut as his laughter displaces them or they leave to get dinner. 

Slowly, Adelina looks to the bottle then firmly recorks it. She tries to process what she had the displeasure of tasting. 

“Did you have to add the rye?” She asks, staring down the bottle with mounting disgust. 

“I did, yeah,” Alek responds, wiping away tears, “It doesn’t work without it.”

“I don’t know whether I should be more scared or impressed that you made something that looks, smells, and moves exactly like pear juice yet manages to taste and feel so terrible,” She croaks, “My throat is still burning.” 

Still laughing, Alek gets up to hand her his waterskin, taking a swig of his own at her raised eyebrow. Adelina sips it cautiously, then chugs it once it’s determined normal water. She shakes her head at him when she hands it back, but takes the offered bowl of stew anyways. Alek sits next to her with his own bowl and begins explaining his newest jaunt into alchemy when she keeps squinting down at the bottle. He knows he owes Adelina pear juice and that the payback is going to be momentous, but considering his hair is still sticky in random places, it was called for. 

He should probably tell Kai to just keep an extra pair of pants for him on hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I project my vast dislike of whiskey and picklebacks here? Maybe.  
> If you have any prank ideas for these two, send them my way! I'm much more punny than pranky so coming up with them is not my forte.  
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out the rest of the series if you haven't already!


End file.
